Spiders Are The Enemy
by Writer432
Summary: Percy is finishing up an essay at some ungodly time in the morning, only to hear a blood curdling scream. When he searches for the source he finds it's a blonde girl cowering in the presence... of a spider. Percabeth AU.


**Disclaimer: I don't own the Percy Jackson series.**

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><p><strong>Percy's POV:<strong>

Sleep deprivation weighs my eyes down as I drag my fingers along the keyboard in an effort to complete my English essay that's due tomorrow. I fumble for the backspace button as I botch up the spelling for yet another word. Instead I press the button to the left, the one with the equals sign, something I have done countless times before. Groaning in frustration, I correct my mistake and reach for the Styrofoam cup that held my coffee from four hours earlier. I swallow the gritty dregs at the bottom of the cup, wincing when all I get are slightly damp ground coffee beans.

After placing the empty cup as far as my arm will reach I scrub my face with my palms, sighing in a state of numb exhaustion. Swimming has been more draining than usual, since Coach has us working twice as hard since Regional's are nearing. And it doesn't help that I challenged Jason to a game of Mario Kart and we spent three hours racing each other. So my paper was pushed until the very last minute, procrastination seems to be something I'm fairly talented at recently.

Against my will my eyes close, and its so blissfully relieving that I reason with myself that five minutes couldn't hurt.

**~~~(Line Break)~~~**

I am startled awake by a blood curdling scream, one only produced in an instant of true terror. I scramble to my feet, knocking my chair over in the process. Charging through the endless stacks of books before me I locate the source of the scream.

It's not someone being brutally murdered like I predicted, but a pretty blonde crouched on a table, her face pale as if she saw a ghost.

"What's wrong?" I ask, scanning our surroundings for any and murders who may be lurking nearby.

"Sp-sp-sp-spider!" She stutters, pointing a shaky finger at a small, black blotch on the side of the bookcase. I squint, taking slow steps forward.

"Why are you so afraid? It's just a tiny spider?" I pluck a price of scrap paper lying around off the ground and squish the spider with it, neatly depositing it in the trash after crumbling it up.

"Just a spider?" Her voice raises an octave, and she seems to be in a near fit of hysteria at the prospect of the bug I just squished being 'just a spider'

"Okay, calm down. The bug is dead now." I treat her like I would a wild animal, my palms facing her as I try to cautiously undo my mistake.

"Arachnid." She corrects, nimbly making her way off the table she was perched on. "Spiders are arachnids."

"Whatever, they are still bugs to me." I roll my eyes, but I can't keep the amusement out of my voice. "Why would you care, since you hate them so much?"

"In war it's good to know your enemy " A defiant look flares in her eyes when she responds, which I hadn't noticed until now. They are grey, a soft, swirling color.

"So you're at war, huh?" I ask, helping her collect her books. She blushes, the rosy tint complimenting her bright smile.

"You know that's not what I mean." She shifts the load of books so the brunt of the weight resides on her hip.

"But it's what you said." I wink at her, catching us both by surprise. Her face blushes an even deeper pink while I awkwardly stand there, tracing the same stretch of carpet with the toe of my shoe over and over.

"Oh, well, um... I should probably go, my roommate is expecting me back soon and..." she tugs self-consciously at the frayed hem of her sleeve, covering the back of her hand with the faded blue material.

"Right, see you around..." I turn to leave, but inexplicably my feet stay glued to the hideous carpet. I take a deep breath before daring to continue the conversation. "Sorry, I didn't catch your name."

"That's because I didn't give it to you. Name's Annabeth. And yours?" She doesn't seem at all fazed by my aruptness, something I rarely see. It's a nice change.

"It's Percy."

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><p>Only a week later, while I'm once again in a state of sleep deprivation so severe it should be illegal, do I hear the scream again. I spring out of my seat, darting through the endless amount of shelves once again. There Annabeth is, huddled among hundreds of books, a miniscule spider crawling up the back of a knocked over chair. Her eyes catch mine, and a terrified squeak escapes her throat.<p>

Swiftly, I flick off the arachnid, as Annabeth so delicately put it last time, and squash it with the toe of my worn tennis shoes, smearing the guts on the carpet. Not the prettiest image, but it's not like it'll make the carpet look any worse, if anything it's an improvement.

"Thank you." Annabeth sighs, slumping against the section on Wales.

"No problem, although I think you owe me a favor. That's twice I've saved you now." We repair the damage done in Annabeth's rush to escape, righting chairs and gathering papers.

"What do you have in mind?" She collects all the scattered pens into one neat line, most likely in an effort to distract herself.

"Coffee on Saturday? We could meet up here around nine, and I know this one place only a few blocks away from campus." Left with nothing to tidy, I stuff my hands into my pockets, trying to keep a neutral expression. Her eyes meet mine for a moment, slightly astonished.

"Sounds like a date." Annabeth grins at me for a split second, something between a self satisfied smirk and an actual smile. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to ask the librarian about her sense of humor, because this sure isn't the kind of whales I was looking for." She gestures mutely to the section she previously hid behind.

"Yeah, okay..." I trail off, watching her go. My face is ablaze, and my stomach in knots, but an excited smile creeps into my lips. I have a date with Annabeth on Saturday.

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><p>The third time I hear the scream it doesn't really surprise me. Annabeth knows this place has spiders, and yet insists on coming. I don't understand either.<p>

I casually stroll through the all to familiar aisles of books, locating the blonde. She's pressed against a bookshelf, which isn't surprising, but the look of terror that always crosses her expression still unnerves me.

"Percy! Come quick!" She shrieks, hiding behind me. I briefly search for something to squish it with, then remember a tissue in my pocket from the cold Annabeth had last week. I would keep a few spare ones in my pocket because she flew through them faster then you could say 'Bless you'. Slowly I approach the hairy 'monstrosity' (Annabeth's word, not mine) and lung at it, feeling the satisfying crunch of its exoskeleton as it's life slips away.

"Done." I mutter, tossing the used tissue away. She comes up from behind me, pressing her face between my shoulder blades.

"Thank you." She says against my shirt, her exhale hot as her breath seeps through my shirt.

"You're welcome, I'll always be here to protect you from the enemy." I trace her knuckles, even though I've already committed her hands to memory. The sensation of her mouth curling into a smile sends shivers down my spine.

"Shut up, Jackson." She slugs my shoulder, extracting her limbs from around me. I twist around to face her, already missing her warmth.

"Make me." I tease, relishing in the discovery that her eyes immediately travel to my lips. It seems she is just as infatuated with me as I am with her.

"I don't kiss exterminators." She draws her fingers along the worn spines of the nearby books, the corners of her mouth quirking up in a teasing smile.

"What if they double as your boyfriend?" I ask, skimming her waist with my fingertips. She leans into my touch unconsciously, almost as if she's drawn to me by a gravitational pull of some sort.

"Now that would be a different story." She turns to face me, our faces inches apart. "I guess then I would kiss you."

"Good thing I'm your boyfriend, then." I whisper, it's been three months and I'm still not over the fact that we are dating.

"Good thing." Is all she manages to say before our lips meet.

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><p><strong>Did you notice the fancy line breaks? You can thank tai-chi-leigh for those, she told me how to do that, thank you again!<strong>

**So, what do you think of this? Cute, huh? *wiggled eyebrows* Tell me in a review what you think so I didn't just make a fool of myself for nothing!**


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